


MissMatch

by sharkbatez



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, F/F, Lena - POV, One shot maybe two who knows? ask my dogs, don't mind my idiocy, heh no smut, idk how to tag so, no beta mo problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29817177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharkbatez/pseuds/sharkbatez
Summary: Months before the official move of Luthor Corp to National City, LenaSmithis set up to have dinner with Kara, 26, loves life, loves food and loves everything under the sun. The date ends poorly. The night? Not so much.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Kudos: 345





	MissMatch

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve never used Tinder, so let’s all pretend I know what I’m talking about. Here’s to my first dialogue-heavy fan fic, set to the musical stylings of Blink 182’s “First Date”.

She was late. 

She did say she would be running a little late, what with the traffic in National City and living a little far from the restaurant. But twenty-seven minutes seemed a little excessive. No calls. No texts. Not even another notification from that goddamned app. 

Lena Luthor — No, Lena _Smith_ had half a mind to fire both Sam and Jess for this. It was all fun and games until she was sitting in a three-star hotel restaurant for half an hour. She would have to tell them to pack their things and probably never show their faces ever again. 

Now _who_ was being excessive? 

She surveyed the restaurant again. It actually looked more like a converted pub. It was a little dark in here and this orange lighting did little to illuminate the room. Tucked in the corner was a good ol’ fashioned bar and high stool, complete with the bowl of stale peanuts and the TV playing a football game. 

There were booths by the windows, with their clean, white wood tables and the horrible maroon upholstery. The curtains were off-white and had faint prints of roses that looked like the color of piss in this lighting. 

There was nothing romantic about this place. It didn’t even deserve the three-stars Jess claimed it had, but it was far enough away from her apartment and was packed with families and couples that attention away from her. 

Lena flagged down the fidgety waiter, a bumbling mess of a man stuffed into a clean shirt and an apron that was far too tight around his generous waist. He nervously poured her another glass of their most expensive wine. It wasn’t the best _cheap_ wine she’s ever had, but alcohol was alcohol. It calmed her nerves. 

Her eyes registered every single tallish, tan, blonde woman in the room — and there was quite a few tallish, tan, blonde women on this very night, seated right across from their dashing dates or fathers. Should she be concerned that they were all starting to look the same? 

She picked up her phone, squinted at the sparse apps on her screen and clicked on the bright pink one that Sam downloaded weeks ago. 

“What if it’s stealing all of my personal information?” Lena had glared at Sam’s giddy face the morning she discovered its existence. 

“You’re probably the richest person in National City.” Sam leaned across her desk and snatched her phone right out of Lena’s hands, “Just sue them.” 

“I could sue _you._ " 

“Relax! I used a dummy email, some old-newish photos of you and I changed your last name to Smith.” 

“What kind of a basic last name is Smith anyway?” 

“Exactly.” 

Lena downed the rest of her drink, tapped the screen of her phone here and quickly swiped there. Fuck! Did she imply she was interested in that _man_ ? Jesus fucking Christ. She _hated_ this app. 

Finally, she found herself on the chat thread with Kara, 26. Loves life, loves food and loves everything under the sun. Lena rolled her eyes once more. For good measure. She scrolled through the conversation this Kara woman had with Sam — and Jess, at some point. 

_Might be a little late. Traffic is crazy!!!_

_OMG! Are you serious??_

_I don’t want to give out my phone number. Sorry._

_You look really pretty! Is that really you??_

_Sorry. Fell asleep._ _2 hour_ _naps are really nice tho._

_Yeah, I know my bio is embarrassing, but it wasn’t my idea. So, I kind of just made myself un-matchable._

_I’m not comfortable sharing that with you._

“Great.” Lena muttered to herself. What on earth possessed Sam to even swipe... wherever — on this woman? 

It was half-past seven now and there was still no sign of Kara, 26. She checked her photos again, saw the horribly cropped shots and the ones where she wasn’t even looking at the camera. Kara, 26, had a plain face, but had a distinct smile. At least Lena was sure to recognize her by that alone when she walked in. 

If she even would. 

She closed her phone and sighed, called for her waiter and remembering she had driven here herself the moment he arrived next to her. She ordered a glass of water instead. She was glad he never made small talk, but Lena had the feeling that he might have recognized who she was. She had to call Sam. 

“You’re fired.” she said in lieu of a proper greeting. 

“Oh my god! She didn’t look like her photos, did she?” Sam groaned, “Was she a sleazy man posing as a woman?” 

“I wouldn’t know. She hasn’t shown up.” 

“Well, she _did_ say she’d be late.” 

“Being late is already a red flag and now I’m going to declare that I got stood up. This never happened, Sam, and this will definitely never happen again. Clear your desk by tomorrow morning and I’ll be kind enough to pay for your flight back to Metropolis.” 

“Oh, come on, Lena! Don’t be so—” 

Tallish. Tan. Blonde. Lena held her breath at the sight of her rushing through the doors, brows knitted together and her eyes obscured by the glare of her thick, black-rimmed glasses. She scanned the little restaurant, her attention flittering to here and there then down to the phone she pulled out of her purse. She had imagined Kara, 26, to be a bouncy sort of person, or maybe a teenager in the body of a woman, clad in pinks and reds with _trendy_ clothes, but she never imagined her to be like this: sinfully breathtaking in a simple baby blue dress that hugged her skin just right. 

“She doesn’t look like her photos.” Lena whispered to her phone. 

“Holy shit! She’s a catfish!” Sam exclaimed from the other line, “But she’s right there? You’re sure that it’s the same Kara you’ve been chatting with?” 

“I never _chatted_ with her, but I’m positive this is her and she—” 

Kara, 26, flashed her a toothy, relieved grin, squeezing past diners who were utterly too preoccupied with their dates to notice her clumsy, charming walk. 

“—is prettier in person.” Lena whispered. She cleared her throat, took on a much calmer tone, suddenly feeling like a fish out of water. “I have to go.” 

“Am I still fired?” Sam giggled. 

“Yes. Call Jess and tell her she’s fired too.” 

Lena quickly shut off her phone, before Sam would realize she wasn’t entirely serious and before she herself would say something too embarrassingly desperate to her unbelievably pretty date, who shrugged her jacket off of her well-defined shoulders. 

“Hi.” Kara said breathlessly, hands braced on the back of the seat opposite Lena’s. Her hair was windswept and her cheeks were a bright red, a glaring color against the softness of her dress. “I’m so, so, so, sorry. Traffic was terrible and—” 

“You didn’t run all the way here, did you?” Lena said, standing from her seat and sounding... concerned. She shook her head. Lena despised tardiness and Kara was half an hour late. But Kara looked like she had just walked out of Sports Illustrated photoshoot and a miniscule part of Lena told her to just let it slide. 

“Oh, golly, no! I just ran from _outside_ to here. I didn’t want to make you wait longer than you already have.” Kara paused, her eyes growing wide and her lips curling into an absent smile. “I honestly thought you would have left by now.” 

Lena felt her cheeks burn. She forced her lips into a cordial smile, still a little miffed about the wait, but it wasn’t really as if Kara didn’t let her know beforehand. “Why don’t you take a seat before you keel over?” 

Kara’s laugh was loud and uninhibited, a perfect mixture of forced and natural. Lena couldn’t help but raise her brow at the unexpected sound, garnering the exact reaction she was hoping for. Kara closed her mouth quickly, smiled pleasantly and sat herself down so they could order. 

“Golly.” Kara whispered as soon as the waiter was out of earshot. Lena glanced at her with a little less severity, but still managed to make Kara swallow audibly and duck her head. “I didn’t think you really looked like your pictures, but wow, you’re even lovelier in person.” 

Lovely. It caught her off-guard just a little bit. She had been called that before, but rarely and most definitely not in a way as innocent as this. Lena recovered with a smile that bordered on sincere and teasing. “Well, I can say the same about you. Half of your pictures on your profile _are_ pixelated and all of them do you no justice.” 

Kara’s ears turned a bright shade of red. She chuckled to herself, ducking her head again and sending her glasses sliding downwards across her nose. All of a sudden, thirty minutes definitely didn’t seem too long a wait. 

Not for someone like this. 

As it turned out, not only did Kara, 26, look like the teenage boy’s sexy librarian fantasy come to life, she was probably one, mentioning a modest collection of books in her apartment. She admitted to being an ambivert, thriving in social situations and enjoying quiet moments to herself and she wasn’t a sporty person, per se, but she’s never refused to humor her sister’s far more active lifestyle. 

“Besides, it really helped with my previous job and it’s kind of an unspoken requirement in my current occupation.” Kara explained. 

“And what is it you do exactly?” she leaned forward, intrigued and a little preoccupied with the little scar on Kara’s forehead, “If you don’t mind me asking.” 

“I guess that’s the point of dates, right?” she chuckled a little too nervously, a little too loudly, taking a small sip of the red wine she seemed a little repulsed by, “Umm, I’m a reporter for CatCo.” 

Lena sat impossibly straight in her seat, her lips pursed into a thin line and her eyes just staring daggers onto her godforsaken glass of water. She wanted something stronger, way, _way_ stronger than any of the wines on the menu. 

Now, she was definitely going to call Sam to confirm her termination. But maybe she had just heard Kara wrong. Because _she_ couldn’t possibly be _one of them._ It was just too cruel! 

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” 

“I’m a reporter for CatCo. A journalist? I write news articles. Well, I’m currently writi—” 

“CatCo?” Lena snorted, “I never realized CatCo wrote _news_ articles. It’s never been a publication known for that. Unless, of course, it’s fashion week somewhere.” 

Kara raised a single brow at Lena and leaned back against her seat as well. She tilted her head a little, her lips parting and her cheeks flushed a furious shade of red. “CatCo isn’t just a fashion magazine. It’s a lifestyle brand and we’ve been publishing award-winning news articles for _years._ " 

“I think it’s best we agree to disagree at this point.” 

“Yes, but I think you’re not giving CatCo enough credit. We may not be the Daily Planet, but we’re definitely trying to move beyond the fashion magazine that it was when Ms. Grant started it.” 

“Fine.” Lena replied. 

Kara was not satisfied and her clear display of loyalty to CatCo was becoming increasingly problematic. Lena looked around for that bumbling waiter and signaled for the end of this stupid date. 

Kara, unfortunately, was unrelenting. “What do you have against CatCo?” 

"It’s really not _just_ CatCo itself.” Lena sighed, “I just really have nothing good to say about reporters in general, whether they write about important exposé news or if skinny jeans should make a comeback.” 

“You are—” 

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” the waiter bowed his head, holding out a black leather booklet towards her. He tried to look uncomfortable, but Lena could tell he was relieved to break up a potential fight. 

“Okay. Fine.” Kara huffed quietly, frowning deeply as she reached for her purse. 

“It’s fine.” Lena said, slipping her card into the booklet. The waiter bowed his head again, glancing over at Kara who frowned at Lena as he left. “Well, this has been... an experience. I’m going to be upfront and say this is where things end.” 

“I can’t say I’m disappointed.” Kara folded her arms over her chest, her tense posture just further accentuating the definition of her shoulders and her arms. Lena shook her head and flashed Kara a smile she hoped was tepid. At best. 

The waiter returned with another bow of his head, this time, a tad lower than before. He beamed as Lena handed him the black booklet back and even pulling her chair out for her as she stood. “I hope everything was to your liking, Ms. Luthor.” 

Lena froze. She hoped Kara hadn’t heard that, but the horrified expression on her face said otherwise. 

“You’re Lena Luthor?” Kara fortunately whispered; her voice shaky. She stood unaided, glancing at the waiter who retreated from the palpable tension between the two women. 

Lena wanted to lie, insist that she was Lena _goddamn_ Smith, buy herself enough time for a little bit of peace and quiet in National City before the inevitable local news shitstorm once the big Luthor Corp announcement would be made. But she kind of reveled in the discomfort in Kara’s eyes. She would no doubt write about this soon, maybe have CatCo post an online edition the moment Kara got home. 

_Lena Luthor a Catfish! Luthor Using Fake Name to Lure Hapless Young Women. My Terrible Date with A Terrorist’s Sister_ by Kara... Kara, 26. 

“Good night, Kara.” she said tersely. 

Lena didn’t bother smiling as she walked past her, straightening the lapels of her coat as she practically marched right out of the door and into the cold night air of National City. She needed to get away, needed to clear her head. 

This was bad. She should have at least asked more questions before going on this stupid date. No, she should have shot down Sam’s and Jess’s efforts to _hook her up with a new boo._ Stupid fucking stupid! What made them think this was even going to be fun? That simply changing her last name was all it took and everything would be harmless? 

What made it even worse was how Kara just seemed to be so perfect. Excitable, attentive, passionate, fucking hot and a fucking reporter for the news outlet that launched that smear campaign against Luthor Corp years ago. 

This was a disaster! 

And there wasn’t even valet parking in this damned hotel. 

"I...” Kara suddenly stood by her side, twisting her fingers “I won’t tell anyone about this. I mean, my sister’s going to ask, but I won’t tell anyone that you’re... You know what I mean.” 

“She who must not be named.” Lena said flatly. 

She must admit, it seemed like a nice gesture, but Lena felt far from reassured. An opportunity like this? A date with the _mysterious,_ up and coming CEO of a corporation that amassed a horrendous reputation and committed humanitarian crimes of mythical proportions? That was news fodder. 

So, Kara _might_ just keep her word, but Lena was certain it would be temporary and she supposed that was enough. 

“Do whatever you want, Kara.” Lena said. She could always sue Kara and CatCo for slander if it all got too out of hand. 

She turned on her heel, grateful that Kara turned towards the other direction. She pulled her coat tighter, cursing the cold National City air and the fact that the parking lot was inconveniently in the back of the building. Lena tried to calm herself. She was so close to the end of the night, so close to putting all of this behind her. 

Tomorrow was another thing. Lena sighed. Tomorrow can wait twelve more hours. She would just hop into her car, warm herself up a little before making the short drive back to her place. This disaster of a night called for slapstick sci-fi comedies until she’d doze off. 

She fished for her keys, her eyes darting over to a familiar head of blonde hair in the darkness. For a moment, Lena thought Kara had followed her, but her date had been walking along the dimly lit alley beside the hotel’s parking lot. Even from this distance, Lena could tell she was still annoyed, brows stitched together as she stomped further and further into the darkness. 

And that should have been it. Lena should have shrugged and continued on with her plan for the rest of her night, but her pulse quickened and a sickening feeling of dread knocked the air right out of her lungs. Behind Kara, a tall, hulking, hooded figure followed. Without preamble, Lena bolted from where she stood, her heels digging into the uneven pavement. 

“Kara!” she shouted. 

“What?” Kara turned towards her, almost as if shaken out of a daze. Completely unaware, she turned her entire body, her arm instantly connecting with her stalker’s chest. 

Lena quirked her brow, her hand reaching out for Kara’s shoulder as she felt her heart ready to give out. She stared at Kara’s would-be assailant, hood fallen away from his face, revealing the pained look on his otherwise ordinary face. He was slumped against the side of the building, clutching his chest as he stared up at the two women. 

“Oh, no!” Kara cried out, “I am so sorry.” 

The man groaned, scrambling to his feet, “Fucking hell!” 

“Are you serious right now?” Lena tugged at Kara’s arm, “Why are you apologizing to _him_ ? He was following you. He was probably going to _hurt_ you.” 

“What the hell are you, lady?” the man grumbled, stumbling backwards and falling to the ground once more. 

“Sir, I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.” Kara pleaded. 

“Fucking freak!” the man kicked off of the ground, turning quickly and sprinted back out to the street where he and Kara had come from. 

“Asshole.” Lena muttered, hand unconsciously squeezing Kara’s arm and pulling her away, but Kara stood still, a pained expression on her face. “Kara?” 

She snapped to attention again, face turning bright red before Lena’s very eyes. “What are you doing here?” 

“What do you mean _what am I doing here_? That man was following you. I thought you were in danger and I sure as hell wasn’t going to just let anything happen to you.” 

“I could have handled him.” Kara murmured, slowly pulling her arm away, “I walk home alone at night plenty of times.” 

Lena shook her head, “You don’t live near her.” 

“Says who?” 

“You did. You said you were going to be late because you don’t live near here.” 

Kara closed her mouth, eyes widening more. For a moment, Lena thought she was about to cry. Kara’s lips started twitching, slowly leaning away as if Lena would reach out and hurt her. “I c-can take care of-of myself.” 

Lena scoffed. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Kara had just walked into a dark alley, far away from her home, with a stranger following her and she had the nerve to say such things? 

This wasn’t Lena’s problem. If Kara had a death wish, who was she to stop her from pursuing her dreams? To her, Lena was just a bad date turned potential terrorist and Kara, 26, definitely did not love life enough to care. 

Lena had plans: go back home, watch shitty movies and pretend none of this ever happened. 

But Kara looked so... fragile. It reminded Lena so much of the stereotypical small-town girl being taken advantage of in a big town. 

Besides, that waiter knew who she was. If Kara turned up dead, the news stations would have a field day linking Lena Luthor, recently incarcerated xenophobe’s sister, who was hiding out in National City, to the unfortunate death of her date. 

“They were arguing the entire time.” some random witness was going to say. 

“At one point, she admitted to that poor, innocent girl that she hated extraterrestrials.” somebody was going to _lie._

Lena couldn’t leave Kara. Not like this. So vulnerable. So alone. So distractingly distracted. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.” 

Lena began the short walk back to her car, already culling down her schedule for the rest of the night to just a single movie, half a bottle of wine and two whole chocolate bars. 

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Kara said aloud. 

Lena stopped, turned to see that Kara hadn’t moved an inch. “Oh, so you’re afraid of a woman you went on a date with but not suspicious strangers standing around in dark alleys?” 

Kara shrugged, a choked sound escaping past her lips, but otherwise she said nothing. 

Lena could definitely just leave her here. That man had probably turned in for the night and the entire neighborhood didn’t seem too menacing. Not that she knew for certain. She had only been in National City for two months. Maybe one, if she counted the times she had to fly back to Metropolis for board meetings and public appearances. 

And what was she so worried about? National City had its own superhero: Supergirl! If she was really anything like her fellow Super, Kara would be relatively safe walking in alleyways by herself. 

Right? 

“Call your sister.” Lena said. 

“What? No.” 

Lena approached slowly, threateningly, her eyes boring holes into that thick, gloriously pretty head of Kara’s, “I am not going to let you walk alone at night. If you won’t let me take you home, call someone—anyone and in the meantime, I can wait with you.” 

“No, it’s really fine.” she whined, “I _really_ can take care of myself. You don’t have to worry about anything. Just go.” 

“Kara.” Lena said softly, warningly, “I can’t leave here and not know you’ll be okay. You may be the worst date I’ve had in _years_ , but, really, I just want to make sure you’re safe.” 

Kara was quiet now. And Lena knew she should have taken the hint earlier. It was obvious Kara didn’t trust her. Maybe more than that man she threw to the ground with surprising ease. Maybe she _can_ take care of herself. Maybe it was better for everybody if she just left. 

With a resigned sigh and a quick bow of her head, Lena made her way back to her car. The night had already dragged on longer than she wanted. It was best not stretch it further. 

“Fine.” Kara said, closing the gap between her and Lena with a couple of effortless steps, “You can take me home.” 

That put the tiniest of smiles on Lena’s face, for some unknown reason. Kara cautiously slid into the passenger’s seat, eyes around the console as if she was waiting for a trap to spring. 

“You should at least let your sister know I’m taking you home.” Lena hoped it was a comforting suggestion, but Kara only shrugged, settled into her seat and stared out the window as Lena started the engine. 

* * *

“What’s that?” Kara shouted all of a sudden, a finger pointing towards somewhere Lena couldn’t quite pinpoint. 

They had been sitting in Lena’s car for the last ten minutes, bored out of their minds in the middle of a bumper-to-bumper traffic congestion. They hadn’t said a word since Kara had ignored to call her sister, opting to let Lena’s _slightly_ embarrassing playlist to play softly in the background. 

“What’s what?” she tried to follow Kara’s hand, barely seeing anything with all of the cars blocking her view. 

“No,” Kara shook her hand firmly, her finger ending right at the bright green air freshener she recently bought, clipped on the air vent, “that! What’s that?” 

“An air freshener.” Lena rolled her eyes. With nothing else better to do, she pulled the tiny plastic object and held it up towards Kara. 

“It’s green!” she cried, leaning so far to the door that Lena almost heard the metal crunch. “Why is it green?” 

“I don’t know! It’s apple-scented or something. Those usually come in green.” she looked closely at the object, inspecting it for any openings then giving it a quick sniff. 

“It’s not k— poison?” 

Lena sighed, throwing it in the backseat where Kara didn’t have to look at it. “It's not poison. It’s apple-scented. For the last time, Kara, if you're so scared, why don’t you just give your sister a call?” 

Kara sat back down in her seat, still not making a move to take her phone out and tell _anybody_ where she was and exactly who she was with. She must really not want anyone to know she had gone on a date with a Luthor. It gave Lena a little bit of comfort. Briefly. Maybe she wanted to break it to her editor first. 

It wasn’t as if Lena was exactly on her best, upstanding-citizen behavior. She _did_ chew Kara out just for being a reporter and she practically coerced her into letting Lena take her home. For what? Just so she could feed Kara more juicy gossip about herself? 

She should have thought about this more. 

“I’m sorry.” Kara whispered. 

“This isn’t your fault.” Lena gestured to the traffic around them, “Jesus, if I had known it was _this_ bad, I would have been a little bit more compassionate. This is really unbelievable.” 

“I meant the air freshener.” Kara laughed bittersweetly, “And for being a little difficult.” 

“A little?” 

“Hey, you’re technically a stranger to me. You said your name was Lena _Smith,_ but I never would have known you were Lena _Luthor._ So, cut me some slack here.” 

“That’s fair. But you do realize that I don’t even know your last name. For all I know, you’re some kind of former-KGB, Russian assassin my brother hired to kill me.” 

“That sounds...” Kara swallowed audibly, “very specific.” 

“It could happen.” Lena shrugged. 

“Why would your brother try to have you killed?” 

She gripped her steering wheel tighter, a little angry that there was no movement at all. There must be a serious roadblock happening, something unprecedented. She was beginning to regret offering to take Kara home, but then the memory of that man tailing after her sent a chill down Lena’s spine. 

She calmed herself down. She’d been through this line of questioning before, had expected it from Kara after all. But that didn’t stop her from hoping the woman wouldn’t snoop. 

“Who do you think sent him to Cell Block X?” Lena said coolly, “Oh, yes, the Daily Planet and even Cat Grant tried to indict him _for years_ and yet Lex Luthor found a way to squirm right out of the law’s grasp. I did what I had to do and Luthor Corp’s board members agreed with me. That piece of shit needs to pay for his crimes. You can quote me on that.” 

There was a pregnant pause, long enough to be quickly enveloped by the sounds of angry car horns half muted by Lena’s expensive windows. The road cleared for a little while, allowing for a couple of cars to inch forward until another drawn out pause. 

It was half-past nine. There was no telling just how much longer she and Kara would have to sit in traffic, no telling if she would have to endure another hour sitting in traffic on her drive back home. 

“This isn’t...” Kara whispered; brows stitched so close together that the scar Lena noticed earlier suddenly appeared again, “I’m not going to write about you.” 

Lena smiled wryly, “I’ve heard that line before. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t trust any reporter.” 

“Well, I won’t.” she insisted, “You have my word. Besides, I’m new. I’m stuck writing puff pieces about the mayor’s purebred cat and _how_ _your_ _kitty can look like Ms. Sparkles too!”_

Lena barked out a laugh. That sounded... ridiculous. She could imagine Kara all bright smiles and polite conversation, asking one of the most powerful political figures in National City... about a cat! She glanced over at Kara, face bright red in the dim glow of the street lights, and felt guilty. 

Writing articles about cats was probably a dream job for _somebody,_ but clearly it wasn’t Kara’s, who did sound so passionate about being a reporter earlier. 

“I’d definitely read that.” Lena said softly, hoping it would at least ease the tension between them. 

“Yeah right.” 

“I wouldn’t mind knowing Ms. Sparkles’ beauty regiment.” Lena stifled another round of laughter, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, “Oh, it’s definitely a breath of fresh air. All I ever see on the news are Supergirl, crime, stock prices, and some random local celebrity and his mistress.” 

The air suddenly shifted and Lena knew she shouldn’t have mentioned The Girl of Steel. In the corner of her eye, Lena could practically see Kara vibrating, trying to act nonchalant and pretending this damned traffic jam was much more interesting than the mention of the superheroine herself. 

A few of the cars moved forward now, Lena shifting the gears and driving the car forward until they reached another stop. 

“What the fuck?” she cursed under her breath. 

Just several cars ahead of hers, there was a massive crater in the middle of the intersection, a couple of toppled-over cars and missing traffic lights. The car horns grew louder, angrier, mixed together with exasperated curses from the drivers who now poked their heads out of their windows to see the full scale of the damage. 

“Gosh, it wasn’t _this_ bad when I passed through here.” Kara pouted. 

“This was here before you got to the hotel?!” 

“Well...” Kara sank into her seat, “No, not really? There was a fight, you know. I saw an alien spaceship flying around here and then Supergirl.” 

“Oh.” Lena trailed off, trying to get a glimpse of the crater from where she sat. “Supergirl.” 

The _Other_ Super. The female version. The one she thought she could share a city with. The same Supergirl she was suddenly worried about seeing, or rather, she was afraid of Supergirl _seeing her_ . That would be a funny story: kicked out before Luthor Corp even finished closing the deal on the _second_ tallest building in National City. 

“Yeah.” Kara laughed nervously, “Have you, uh, seen her before?” 

“No.” she shook her head, “I’m hoping not to for a little while.” 

“Why? You haven’t done anything wrong, have you?” 

Lena flashed her an irritated look, but couldn’t help her brows from stitching together in worry, reminding herself that Kara was a reporter for CatCo of all places. Lena clawed her way through where she was now — pitiful a position as it was — there was just no telling if she could lose it all in a single night. All because Kara, 26, seemed nice and _honest_ and had a pair of earnest blue eyes that made Lena _feel things_. Strange things. Good things. Things she hadn’t felt in a really long time. 

“My brother has amassed quite a reputation, using our family’s fortune and name in his personal bigoted crusade for _years_.” she began shakily, “When he was arraigned, everything went to me: the money, the company, the expectations of his friends and of his enemies. I highly doubt the Supers would consider me anything but a dormant threat after what happened in Metropolis.” 

“You don’t know that.” 

“Right now, I don’t want to know.” Lena admitted despite the alarm bells ringing in her head, “I’m sure Supergirl will introduce herself when I formalize Luthor Corp’s move to National City. I just hope she won’t throw me off the balcony before I even say anything.” 

“She’s not gonna do that.” Kara sounded so sure, yet there was a hint of sadness in her voice that twisted in Lena’s gut. “Is that really what you think of her? Someone who wouldn’t listen?” 

“Honestly? I don’t know.” Lena said after a beat too long, “I’ve never exactly met the woman, remember?” 

“Then you don’t know if she’ll hate you when you meet her. Maybe sh-she'll even like you.” 

“Oh, Kara.” Lena threw her head back against her seat, fingers dancing over the steering wheel as she sighed, “I wish I had your optimism.” 

The ground suddenly shook. The car in front of Lena’s backed into her front fender, pushing until Lena felt her rear bumper collide with the car behind them. Car horns started blaring out of sync; frantic voices raised above the sickening crunch of metal against metal. 

“What the fuck?” Lena stared helplessly as the rows and rows of cars were slowly pushed backwards, relieved when all of a sudden, it all stopped. 

A single SUV soared high into the air, spinning like a toy car, until it landed with a dull clang somewhere behind them. 

“I have to go!” Kara suddenly cried out. 

“No, Kara. Don’t.” 

Lena peered over her shoulder, at the ensuing panic outside. The cars behind them started backing out fast as they could, crashing into each other in their escape. Others had abandoned their vehicles, exposing themselves to more metal and asphalt raining down on them. 

“Just sit still and keep quiet.” Lena said, “I can get us out of here.” 

Lena shifted her car into reverse, slamming her foot on the gas pedal the moment she saw an opening big enough for her car. But as soon as her fingers reached the manual door lock, Kara had already bolted out of her seat, leaving her door open as she ran in the opposite direction, straight into the fray. 

“What the actual fuck?!” Lena shouted at Kara’s retreating form. 

The screaming grew louder, more panicked honking of horns. The earth shook once more and Lena swore she heard a low, guttural screech in the mixture of sounds. She reached across her console, her fingers barely reaching the passenger door when a hulking, green _creature_ launched into the air, landing so close to a lamppost and just yanking it out of the ground like it weighed nothing, throwing it into a laundromat she could only hope was empty. 

That was when she saw it: a blur of red and blue, flying fast towards the creature and just lifting it into the air. She heard people cheering, shouting, saw people stop dead in their tracks to stare as the blur disappeared into the night sky. 

That must have been Supergirl, come to save the day. 

Lena could only sputter, her limbs moving on their own, slowly driving herself into a much safer spot with her passenger door still wide open. The worst was over, she kept telling herself, kept glancing at the people rejoicing in the street, but she couldn’t stop her own body from shaking. 

That was the closest she wanted to be to the Super. No more. She tightened her hold on her steering wheel until her knuckles turned white and she lost all feeling in her hands. She pressed her forehead against the back of one hand and took deep steadying breaths, surprised that the mere thought of Supergirl becoming aware of her presence made her feel so deathly afraid. 

Kara didn’t know what she was talking about. 

“Kara!” Lena jumped from her seat, belatedly unclipping her seatbelt and grabbing her bag and the tiny first aid kit she kept in her car. She absently closed her passenger door, head whipping around, trying to find a head of blonde hair in the middle of the half-chaotic crowd that was weaving around abandoned vehicles. The screaming stopped, replaced by low, groaning noises of pain and the hypnotic sound of a siren speeding closer. 

“Kara!” she tried again. 

She was only met with brief looks from people retreating to the end of the road where the lights of the ambulance served as a beacon. She felt ridiculous with her little first aid kit, worried that someone might recognize her. Her eyes landed on a small woman and a young boy struggling to hold a half-conscious man upright as they made their way to the paramedics. Lena hurried over, offering help and happily unburdening the little boy when the woman whispered her gratitude over and over. 

Sometimes, she would look over her shoulder, back to the giant crater in the road, the bent streetlights, missing lampposts and the ruined shop, wondered if there were still people there that were somehow in mortal peril, wondered if Kara was... 

Lena bit the inside of her cheek, relief almost knocking the wind out of her lungs as she saw Kara, hair unkempt, face covered in dirt and a startling streak of blood on her neck, leading another small family towards the paramedics. She was surprised when she saw Lena, but she smiled nonetheless, small and guilty as Lena helped the man sit down. 

“You’re still here?” Kara whispered as Lena walked towards her, immediately shrinking in on herself when she noticed the angry furrow of Lena’s brow. 

“What the hell were you thinking?” Lena hissed lowly, glancing at the young boy who was staring at her, “Do you always have a knack for running headfirst into danger?” 

“I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.” 

Lena exhaled the breath she didn’t know she was holding, eyes frantically darting around at the chaos that was slowly subsiding, feeling increasingly ridiculous with her little first aid kit. She looked back at Kara, studied the streak of blood on her neck and frowned. It wasn’t a deep cut, but it was a cut nonetheless. She grabbed the girl by the arm and futilely tried to pull her towards the ambulance. 

“You’re really much stronger than you look.” Lena exclaimed. 

“What are you doing?” 

“You have a cut.” Lena pulled on her arm again, stared down at Kara’s hand and found more cuts there. She gently ran her thumb over her knuckles, wondered how on earth she had gotten these. “Did you punch through some glass or something?” 

Kara took her hand back, “I’m fine. It’s nothing.” 

“Kara.” 

“Some people actually need medical attention more than I do. I just need a band aid, I guess.” a low growl pierced through the silence between them. Kara stared down at herself, her face quickly turning crimson, pointedly avoiding Lena’s gaze. “And some food.” 

Lena glanced at her watch. It had only been about three hours since they left the restaurant and she clearly saw Kara eat an entire steak by herself. But she also saw Kara running out of a moving vehicle and most likely punched through some windshield and maybe ran up and down the street a couple of times. Honestly, Lena didn’t know. She was tired, still in shock after the entire ordeal and she was certain that Kara, 26 would be the death of her. 

* * *

Lena wasn’t surprised there was a taco truck close by. And that the people there seemed completely unfazed by what had just transpired. Giant green creatures throwing lampposts around must have been a natural occurrence by now. It was somewhat like this back in Metropolis, with Superman and the monthly attacks that resulted in obscenely expensive damages to public infrastructures — Luthor Corp was _still_ paying for the last one, after all — but she had never once seen Metropolis’ own blur of blue and red. 

Not that she was even anywhere close to Luthor Corp, working as a research assistant abroad before moving back to Metropolis a couple of years ago, then starting her own little company in a garage in a suburb thirty minutes out of city limits. 

“I got you a vegan burrito!” Kara said brightly, placing a paper plate with a burrito cut in half, both sides as thick as her arm, deep fried potato wedges, cucumber slices and a bottle of water. 

Lena knew she couldn’t eat all of this by herself, not even when she was ravenous, wondered if she and Kara were going to share, but that thought was quickly thrown out of the window and drowned at sea the moment she saw Kara’s three burritos, a basket of potato wedges, four orders of quesadilla and a soda can. 

“You’re eating all of that?” Lena exclaimed. 

Kara ducked her head and turned bright red yet again, “I’m always hungry.” 

Again, Lena reminded herself, Kara _did_ probably exhaust herself earlier doing God knows what. Her eyes darted over to Kara’s hands now missing of the cuts that once peppered her knuckles. Just as Kara held one half of her burrito up to her mouth, Lena grabbed her hand inspecting the unmarred skin, running her thumb along the soft surface, just trying to find what she had seen earlier. 

“What are you doing?” 

“You were injured.” Lena said breathlessly, “I saw it earlier. You saw it too. You said you just needed a band aid!” 

“Oh!” Kara chuckled to herself, carefully taking her hand back away from Lena and taking a generous bite of her burrito, “I washed my hands and they were just gone.” 

“No. I saw it. I _touched_ it.” 

Kara only shrugged and quietly ate. Lena kept staring at her hands, her own food left untouched. She saw the wounds, clear as day. They had been standing right underneath a blinding streetlight, right next to a very bright ambulance. Kara had been hurt. She studied Kara again, zeroing in on her neck where she remembered seeing that streak of blood and found a little cut about an inch long. 

“What’s that?” she pointed to the wound. 

“It’s probably nothing.” Kara laughed again, scooting backwards as she shoved a couple of potato wedges in her mouth. “Stop staring. You're making me feel weird.” 

But Lena couldn’t stop staring at that little cut along her neck. It looked... bigger earlier. Or just longer. She wasn’t quite sure. Everything had happened so fast. She glanced at Kara’s knuckles again, swore on her mother’s grave that she had seen the cuts there too. Kara had seen them too, but now she’s acting like they weren’t there. 

Then there was her penchant for danger. Walking into dark alleys by herself? The surprising strength when Lena could barely move her, how she effortlessly knocked down that creep earlier and how she looked when he called her a freak. 

Kara sat quietly and ate her second burrito in obvious discomfort. The small basket of potato wedges was now empty and there was a single piece of quesadilla left and yet there was Kara and her near-perfect physique, practically inhaling the burrito as if she hadn’t eaten a meal fit for a small army. 

Kara’s contempt at finding out her _real_ last name was starting to make a lot of sense now. So, did the air freshener incident. A little bit. 

“Don’t move.” Lena said. She scooted closer to Kara before she could reach for her last burrito, wrapped her hand around Kara’s neck and clumsily opened her first aid kit with the other. 

“What are you doing?” Kara’s voice hitched. 

Lena gently ran her thumb across the little cut on Kara’s neck, now almost imperceptible to the naked eye. A wound as superficial as this wouldn’t have left that much blood earlier. “It’s not nothing.” 

Kara sat perfectly still as Lena cleaned off the dried blood, the wound completely gone now. Lena pursed her lips, fingers shaking, hovering over smooth skin. No human being could heal as quickly as Kara did just now. This could only mean one thing. 

“I’m sorry about all this.” Kara said all of a sudden, taking a measured sip of her soda, “You probably would have already been home if it weren’t for me.” 

Lena shook herself out of her daze. Humming, taking her little pack of band aids out. “It’s fine. I was the one who insisted. Besides, I saw Supergirl.” 

Kara choked. Lena felt a cold breeze brush past her arm. She glanced at her arm, saw a cloud swirling over their table and... freezing Kara’s last burrito. She turned to Kara, wanted to know if she saw it too, but Kara looked terrified, eyes blown wide, lips trembling and her soda now frozen solid in her hand. 

No, Kara was most definitely not human and here she was, sitting next to a notorious alien-murderer's sister who now has the very same near-unlimited resources he had — a Luthor. Lena could only imagine what Kara felt, instantly regretting everything about tonight. She should have backed off the first time Kara asked her to. 

Lena sighed. She pulled the first aid kit to her lap and started rummaging for the pack of simple band aids underneath the ones covered in cartoon animals and superheroes. Children liked those. Before joining Luthor Corp, Lena actually spent quite a bit of time with children. 

“Gosh, it’s really cold out!” Kara shook her body, rubbing her hands all over the sleeves of her coat and looking over her shoulder for any witnesses. 

Lena only nodded. She checked if anyone had seen Kara freeze half the table, but most people had their backs turned to them or were too far away. She stuffed the simple band aids back in her kit and raised the cartoon animal ones to Kara’s face. “Pick one.” 

Kara laughed, adjusting her glasses to peer closely at the print of the band aids. She seemed to favor the smiling turtle over the sleeping cat and the pink butterflies. “Why do you even have these?” 

“You never know.” Lena shrugged, taking out the other kinds from her kit, “I even have Snoopy ones, Miss Piggy, and unicorns and stars that glow in the dark.” 

Kara laughed, leaning closer as Lena handed her one with round-tipped stars on it. The frozen burrito already forgotten and quite possibly already melting. 

“I didn’t _actually_ see Supergirl.” Lena stuffed the rest of the band aids back in her kit. She estimated which patch of skin was closest to where the wound had been and pressed the band aid over it. “I barely saw anything, really. It’s true what they say, that she’s just a blur in the sky. Although it was quite the experience. And here I thought National City would be much safer than Metropolis.” 

“It’s really not that bad.” Kara laughed nervously, running her hand over the band aid on her neck, “Most of the time we only have to hear about Supergirl intervening with natural disasters, big fires or hostage situations. You know, things the police can’t handle on their own.” 

Finally remembering she had her own burrito, Lena grabbed one half of it and pushed the rest of her plate over to Kara. “Probably because she doesn’t have her own evil corporate maniac taking over the world and manipulating the law to look the other way.” 

Kara was more than happy to eat the not-frozen burrito, flashing a grateful smile as she took a small bite off it. “Not yet?” 

Lena rolled her eyes and found herself laughing. Strange. She couldn’t bring herself to be the least bit angry at the insinuation. Not when Kara looked so ridiculous with that cartoon band aid on her otherwise perfect neck and a smile that warmed Lena... despite the half-frozen table. “Well, it’s definitely not going to be me. I have better things to do.” 

“Like this?” Kara gestured around her. 

Lena knew what she meant. This wasn’t quite what Lena had in mind, but she couldn’t help but let her smile linger on. This all felt so... mundane. But magically so. 

“Yes.” she nodded, “Like all of this.” 

Truth be told, this was even worse than the three-star hotel restaurant. The lights were awful here, it was just the dim glow of the taco truck. Half of the street lights were missing at the far edge of the lot. There was a _massive_ crater in the middle of the road, for heaven’s sake, and the cold night air had only been made worse by Kara’s... 

There wasn’t even any alcohol. Not even the cheap, 3% kind. But Lena was sure that this was probably the most excitement she’s felt since her garage startup. It was the good kind of excitement. The kind that gets her blood pumping and puts a smile on her face over silly little things. Death-defying half of them may be. 

The walk back to Lena’s car was long, quiet and a strange mixture of relaxed and tense. It had only been an hour since that creature attacked and Supergirl swooped in to save the day, but the aftermath looked worse than the actual chaos. There were more cars now, driving past dangerous potholes that further congested the roads, completely blocking off Lena’s vehicle. 

“I’m really sorry I got you into this.” Kara sighed as they stood on the sidewalk, “I shouldn’t have agreed to this.” 

“It’s alright, Kara.” Lena said, wrapping her coat tighter to stave off the chill of the night, “Maybe this’ll all clear up soon then we can be on our way.” 

“I can take the bus back to mine.” she pointed to somewhere behind Lena’s head, “There’s a bus stop a couple of blocks from here. It’s just a short walk and maybe we can call you a service? You can come back here tomorrow for your car, if that’s alright? I mean, you’re probably already tired.” 

Lena was. It was already a quarter to eleven o’clock, with the traffic and the long ride back home, Lena might get lucky and make it home by midnight; enough time for a quick shower and maybe a glass of wine. It was all too tempting. It was what she wanted, after all. Still, she couldn’t help but feel the dull ache in her chest. 

This was where they leave each other. The night had been unexpected from start to finish, chock full of the surprises and thrills she had been missing out on for the last year and it was all extraordinarily pleasant. Kara, most of all. And now it would end just like this: a quick goodbye and a quiet ride back home. 

Lena nodded and put on a cordial smile. It was all she could do to mask her disappointment. There was no point arguing now, not when Kara was probably eager to get away from her after all that’s happened. 

“Do you want to walk for a while?” Kara suddenly asked. She shrugged and chuckled nervously. “The bus won’t be here for another fifteen minutes. Or I can wait with you until a ride comes?” 

“Would you believe me if I said I can take care of myself?” Lena grinned, feeling her cheeks warm at the sound of Kara’s laughter. 

“I guess the tables will just have to turn.” 

* * *

Walking in the streets of National City wasn’t the most comfortable, not so soon after that attack earlier and not in this near-freezing temperature. There were only several other people strolling around them, all bundled up and barely glancing at them. Lena pulled her coat tighter, as if the mere movement would warm her more, but she liked to believe it did, even for half a second. 

“I always thought Metropolis was colder than National City.” Kara said, “It _looks_ colder.” 

“Oh, yes.” Lena nodded, “I just overestimated National City’s warmth. Although, to be fair, I wasn’t expecting to be in the open air for more than ten minutes. Fifteen, max. I’m afraid this isn’t my warmest coat.” 

She turned to Kara with a ready grimace, surprised to find her several paces behind, gracelessly slipping out of her own coat. She held it up to her chest with a wide grin on her face, walking over to Lena and presenting it to her. “Here.” 

“But—” Kara only smiled at her, a glint of sadness and panic in her eyes that made Lena swallow her words back down. She pulled Kara’s coat tighter, already feeling comfortable under its warmth. 

“You saw it, didn’t you?” Kara’s voice was soft, pained. Afraid. 

“Yes.” She didn’t need to elaborate for Lena to know exactly what she meant. “But you don’t have to say anything if you didn’t want to. Especially not to me.” 

“Is it because you’re—” 

“Nobody would touch a Luthor with a ten-foot pole, Kara, and most definitely not divulge personal information to one.” Lena snapped. She bit her tongue, took deep, soothing breaths and cursed herself for the warmth blooming in the corners of her eyes. How pathetic. “I’m sorry.” 

“No, it’s alright.” 

“You don’t have to pretend to be so nice to me.” Lena snorted, already slipping Kara’s coat off of her shoulders, before she felt warm hands wrap around the lapels, pulling it tighter before it fell. She glanced up at Kara, saw that same small smile and the sadness in her eyes. 

“I’m not pretending.” Kara whispered, straightening herself and motioning for them to continue walking, “I have to admit, I _was_ scared when I found out. I was suspicious when you offered to take me home too. I kind of thought you figured it out in that alley.” 

“You were alone in an alley and a creepy stalker man was following you. I was scared half to death with worry. There’s really barely any room to think of anything else.” Lena sighed, “I couldn’t just leave you there.” 

“That’s quite heroic of you.” 

“If being reckless is all it takes to be a hero, then I’m not half as heroic as you, Ms. I’m-Not-a-Sporty-Person, but decides to jump out of moving vehicles and running towards that _thing.”_

Kara’s boisterous laugh punctuated the air, several passersby turned to look at the them. They must have been a strange sight: a woman bundled up in two coats and another who looked like she was going to freeze to death. But Kara looked perfectly fine, looked exactly like she did when Lena first laid eyes on her: long, windswept blonde hair, bright pink cheeks, smooth, tanned skin and blue eyes so unbelievably blue, it made perfect sense she was out of this world. 

Lena wanted to kick herself for such a cheesy thought, but there were no words left in her mind, just the slow, steady beating of her heart. 

A phone ringing softly kicked her right out of her stupor. The two of them quickly dug through their bags to find the source, immediately patting themselves down until Lena pulled one out of the pocket of Kara’s coat. _Alex calling..._

She positioned her lips in what she hoped was a decent enough smile, handing the device to Kara who suddenly looked guilty at the display photo. Lena tried not to think too much of the picture, not of the way Kara pressed her face close to a stunning redhead, both of them grinning like drunken fools at the camera. It could be a close friend. It could also be the aforementioned sister. Lena hoped it was the former, beginning to feel unnerved if _Alex_ was the latter. 

Lena stood a respectable distance from Kara, burying herself in the warmth of her two coats and taking out her own phone. It was a quarter after eleven now and she felt whiplash realizing that she had only known Kara for _less than_ four hours. But when she looked at her standing on the curb, it felt strange, like she had known her for longer than that. 

Or maybe Sam and Jess were right, that Lena’s never really spent more than thirty minutes with anybody before. Never saying _much._ Not that her own thoughts and feelings ever really mattered to other people. Most people were just as shitty about talking to her as she was at talking to them. Not like Kara. Perhaps it was her skill as a reporter. Or maybe — said the small, distant whisper in the back of Lena’s mind — Kara just cared. 

One terrible date and four hours later. How pathetic, Lena thought as she silenced that voice. 

“Wow, I didn’t know it was this late.” Kara said in a panic, staring down at her phone as she walked back to Lena’s side, “Have you called a service yet? I can call one for you—” 

“Why don’t we walk back? Hopefully the streets won’t be too crowded and I can drive you home.” Lena shrugged, tugging Kara’s coat back up her shoulder when it started to slip. She whipped her head to Kara, eyes wide. She hadn’t meant to be so presumptuous. “That is, if you still want me to take you home.” 

“Just so you know, it’s not because of the Luthor thing and me being... I just don’t want to inconvenience you more than I already have.” 

“It’s no trouble at all, Kara.” Lena scoffed and smiled as innocently as she could. 

“You really don’t have to, you know.” Kara said softly, her own smile was sad, but there was a little bit of enthusiasm in her eyes that Lena tried not to read too much into. 

“I know." Lena said resolutely. 

They began walking back. Lena took small steps, uncharacteristically dragging her feet. She reasoned with herself that it was because of keeping Kara’s coat from falling off, or that her feet still hurt from tonight’s misadventures. Kara fell into step beside her, her fingers ghosting Lena’s knuckles as they walked. 

“I’m Kara Danvers, by the way.” she said so suddenly, so softly. She smiled that sweet, small smile, but kept her eyes to the pavement. “Gosh, I don’t think I ever mentioned that at all.” 

“Lena Luthor, but you already knew that.” Lena chuckled, Kara’s hand brushing against hers again, the warmth of it just melting decades of unease away in an instant, “My name actually _is_ Lena Smith though. My birth name. I was adopted when I was quite young, so technically, I wasn’t lying.” 

“Oh. _That_ I didn’t know.” 

“Most people don’t. My parents, the Luthors, they immediately changed my name, went so far as to wipe out all records of who I was before. If I didn’t know how to write my own name when I was four, I think I would have forgotten.” 

Another pass of Kara’s hand, but Lena swore it lingered for a half a beat longer than earlier. She wanted to curl her finger around Kara’s thumb, wanting to siphon that warmth for herself. But she already had Kara’s coat around her and holding hands? That would be creepy. That would be nice. 

“It’s nice they let you keep your first name though.” Kara said brightly, cheeks turning pink as she gently kicked at the pavement for something to do. 

Lena bit her tongue. Lionel and Lillian Luthor just couldn’t be bothered to come up with a new name for her at all. Not a decent one anyway. Lillian had suggested they change her name to match a great, grand aunt’s, but Lionel had quickly shot it down. Lutessa was a mouthful and Lena detested the idea of being called Tessa or Tess. 

“What was your name before you came here?” Lena breathed out before she could squash her curiosity to the ground. A dark look settled on Kara’s face, but in the blink of an eye, it was replaced with an all-too nervous smile. “That was so rude of me. I’m so—” 

“It’s Kara.” she kicked the ground again, swinging her leg playfully before she hopped and resumed her usual pace, “It was a common name here on Earth anyway, so my adoptive parents never called me by anything else. It’s one of the few things from my home that I get to keep freely.” 

She didn’t wait for Kara’s hand to brush against hers before Lena intertwined their fingers. She gave a firm but gentle squeeze, her thumb caressing Kara’s once-bloodied knuckle. She kept her eyes to the pavement, all her daring now melting away from the stiffness of Kara’s hand. 

“I’m so sorry, Kara.” they were feeble words, hollow even to her own ears, but apart from an unsolicited comforting touch, it was all Lena could give, “Truly, I am.” 

“Thank you.” 

Lena squeezed one last time before she slowly slipped her hand from Kara’s. 

* * *

The drive to Kara’s apartment was far from quiet. 

The road had partially been cleared, giving enough room for traffic to at least somewhat flow. Still embarrassed about the hand-holding incident and the remaining contents of her playlist, she let Kara plug her phone into her speakers, a soft pop song Lena’s never heard of before playing so softly in the background. The gentle thumping of the bass matching that in Lena’s chest. 

“What’s your favorite color?” Kara asked, “Mine’s blue.” 

“Red.” Lena tutted, but said nothing more. She had always looked good in red and it seemed a bit depressing to say that she loved black above all other colors. “Umm... what’s your favorite animal? I quite like foxes right now.” 

“Foxes?” Kara laughed, head whipping at breakneck speed to flash Lena an amused expression. 

Lena felt her cheeks burn, “There was this video of a fox laughing. I thought it was cute. Now answer the question.” 

“Alright, alright. I like cats.” 

“You don’t strike me as a cat person.” 

“Oh gosh! Everyone keeps saying that. My friends think I’m more of a dog person, but yeah, they’re cute and huggable, but cats are super cool too."

“I guess they look mysterious and wise.” 

“What was your favorite subject in high school? I liked all my Math classes.” 

“All my Science classes.” Lena said with a content smile, “What would you be if you weren’t a reporter?” 

“Ha ha!” Kara said dryly.

“It’s a legitimate question!” 

“I don’t know. I’d probably be an artist. I really don’t know. I kind of like my job even though nobody really thinks I can do it?” she shrugged, “You?” 

“What?” 

“What would  _ you  _ be if you weren’t... this?” 

“A scientist.” Lena said wistfully, “Before I ended up becoming a babysitter for stocks and profit, my ex and I were trying to find a much safer alternative to chemotherapy. Then Lex happened and the rest, as they say, is history. I still haven’t given up on finding the cure for cancer though.” 

“That’s really cool.” Kara said breathlessly, “You're... that’s amazing.” 

Lena preened at that, her cheeks burning, her pulse quickening despite the tightness she felt in her chest. The cancer research had been put so far into the backburner because of Lex and his cronies that the whole company move was necessary in the first place. She was now slowly wrestling control of Luthor Corp and all of its projects and affiliations from them, but it was a long, arduous task and she was, after all, just a young woman with a tainted name in a city that might not even want her here too. 

Before either of them could say anything more, Kara sat up in her seat and directed Lena to park in front of a nondescript building. It looked more like a giant six-story factory that was converted into an apartment. Lena surveyed Kara’s neighborhood, noted the sparse passersby walking fast and talking amongst themselves, the thin maple trees that lined the sidewalk, the teenagers lounging on the steps of another brick-and-mortar building at the end of the street. This neighborhood must look quaintly charming in the daylight. 

“Thank you for this.” Kara said as she unbuckled her seatbelt. 

“It was the least I could do.” 

They sat in silence for a moment, deeply focused on the near-empty street ahead of them. The air was thick with uncertainty, the tightening in Lena’s chest growing worse. She could even hear her own breathing and how Kara shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Was she supposed to hop out and open Kara’s car door for her? No, that seemed too... desperate. Not after everything that transpired at dinner that seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Can I have my coat back, please?” 

Lena stared down at herself, surprised to find Kara’s coat rolled up over her lap. She carefully held it up by the collar, handing it back to Kara just as a soft chiming sound went off from one of its pockets. She had heard that sound before, right before Sam whooped in her seat and told her she had  _ matched  _ with somebody. 

Kara looked alarmed. Lena didn’t need much light to tell that Kara’s face must have been flushed. 

“Good night, Kara.” she said softly, tamping down the slow, heavy coiling in her chest. 

“Good night.” 

Kara got out of the car herself. With one final wave and a flash of her small smile, Kara disappeared into her apartment building. Home at last, Lena thought. 

She turned on her phone; twenty-two text messages and seven missed calls from Sam, four messages and a single missed call from Jess. Nothing more. Certainly not any notifications from that damned app. Lena glanced at Kara’s building door one last time, hunted down the dating app, deleted her account and then the app itself. 

She felt relief wash over her, quickly followed by the soft caress of regret. It was back to babysitting stocks and profits, keeping shareholders happy and her head down from the press. She held on to the hope that Kara, 26 — no, Kara Danvers — wasn’t going to write about their crazy night together, that maybe someday, their paths would cross again. 

Lena scoffed and started her car. She was a Luthor. Luthors don’t exactly get happy endings. But come hell or high water, at least she would always have this night. 

There was a knock against her window. Lena set her car in park, rolled down her window, surprised to see Kara again only minutes after bidding her goodnight. 

“I already told you about the guy who ditched me, didn’t I?” when Lena failed to respond, Kara continued a mile a minute, “Yeah, okay, last year, I willingly went out on a date with a guy who just completely blew me off the entire time and it really sucked.  Tonight had been really bad, like, I didn’t have much expectations because this wasn’t my idea, but you weren’t very nice, no.” 

“I’m sorry?” 

Kara frowned. She scooted back into the passenger’s seat as if Lena wasn’t just about to drive away into the night. Kara took a deep breath, her attention focused on the SUV parked right in front of Lena’s car and slowly exhaled. Lucky for Lena, Kara hadn’t frozen her windshield. 

“Then everything just sort of got worse after we left the restaurant,” Kara admitted with a whine and a stilted, high-pitched laugh, “but I had a great time and I think I’d regret it if I didn’t do this.” 

Lena’s brows flew to her hairline. These kinds of things didn’t usually happen to her — not to anyone in real life even. Ever. Right? But she couldn’t keep her eyes from glancing over Kara’s lips and to feel exhilarated at that smile on her face. She leaned forward just as Kara thrust a piece of paper into her chest. 

“Okay?” Lena murmured, wondering why Kara would give her Cat Grant’s business card. 

“Oh, gosh no! I am so sorry. I didn’t know I still had some of Ms. Grant’s calling cards.” Kara snatched it right back, flipped it over and showed Lena the neat, loopy scrawl of her number on the back, “This is definitely my number. You know. In case.  Ummm ... I honestly know better places than that restaurant. Do you like chicken parmigiana? Oh, I know a place with some  _ really  _ good cinnamon rolls.” 

Lena gently took Cat Grant’s business card in her hand, running her fingers over Kara’s number. She grinned like a lovestruck teenager, raking over each number and etching it into her mind. With the way things had gone the entire night, there was nothing wrong with being cautious. 

“I think my assistant said something about a Thai buffet somewhere not too far from here.” 

“Oh, I know that place! I love their shrimp.” 

“Perfect! I’m allergic to shrimp.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I do realize that Kara becomes a reporter after meeting Lena, but her already being a reporter fits in this fanfic. I like this idea. It gives me more wiggle room and a space for a second part to grow. My dogs are telling me to put that on hold though so I can roll around the floor with them more. 
> 
> I don't know why I noted the song in the fic, but maybe I felt it was important at the time of writing. In the air freshener scene, the song was Chloroform by Phoenix. LOL. 
> 
> Thank you and good night!


End file.
